The hens were sweet--some of the boys were a bit aggressive but I can handle that!
Actually, it is good to a point in a flock because the need to protect the hens from danger.
This person had a first egg at 20 weeks:
This bresse pullet has has laid an egg 5 days in a row now, teeny tiny little bantam sized eggs, but she's quite the layer. Pretty good for a duel purpose breed. Hopefully the eggs will get larger as time goes by.
The average for Point of Lay for all breeds is 25 weeks. You might get some eggs before that though. I might be remembering wrong but I seem to remember them starting early.
Spray the wounds with blu kote.
Also, if you are heating with a light, get a red heat bulb. That will calm them down.
I like brooder plates--give the chicks a place to hide.
What you are talking about is different from roasting--chicken is still tough so it needs a special cooking technique.
Also, it will start getting a gamy taste to it that some do not like because the male hormones of birds that are not capons flavors the meat.
A 5 year old hen will not have...
This is great and no, you do not have to caponize. That gives you a bigger and tender bird but would cost a small fortune to raise--months of feed with little weight gain over a 16 week old cockerel. My suspicion is that not many caponize.
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Mating is a process that can take time. The hens have to accept him and he has to learn what to do. Yes it can take some time to get it all going and can be quite frustrating.
I hope the eggs go fertile for you!
Are the other chicks obvious dorking crosses? The ones that look the most like bresse still can't be called pure. There is still a question about parentage so it would not be ethical to breed them or sell them as pure bresse.
Two hatched last night and they 5 more over night. there were more pips when I left for work this morning so I expect an incubator full when I get home.
I will get a picture for the thread.